| Mixed Emotions for Team Yamaha MGM at the Nürburgring |
The fourth round of the Superbike*IDM International German Championship brought smiles and frowns to the faces of the Team Yamaha MGM team members. Damian Cudlin delivered two solid results, securing fourth and fifth, but teammate Max Neukirchner was less fortunate. His efforts at the Nürburgring ended abruptly when he sustained a serious hip injury in a crash in the first race.
The weekend at the famous Nürburgring started promisingly for Team Yamaha MGM. Neukirchner and Cudlin showed their usual fast pace during Superpole on Saturday and secured third and fifth on the grid respectively.
After a strong start to the first race Neukirchner moved up to second place in the second lap. Xavi Fores closed up, but the German was able to defend his position until he was taken by surprise by a highsider on lap 15.
Neukirchner was immediately taken to the hospital in Adenau to receive surgery on a broken right femoral neck on Sunday. The surgery was successful and he has since been taken out of intensive care.
The exact time necessary for Neukirchner to recover is uncertain, but Team Yamaha MGM has high hopes for his return at the sixth round at Schleizer Dreieck.
At the start of the first 18-lap sprint Cudlin skillfully avoided other riders who crashed going into turn one, but lost valuable time and dropped back to the middle of the pack. Gradually the Australian fought his way back to fourth place as he had a podium placement in his sights, but he came just short. He defended his fourth place and took home important championship points.
In the second race the Australian was able to position himself directly behind Lorenzo Lanzi and Bastien Mackels and was on course for a podium position. Whilst keeping his rivals under pressure, Cudlin planned on passing Mackels for fourth place in the last lap, but was unable to do so when he was held up by some backmarkers. He crossed the line in fifth, 14.795s from the front.
These results earned Cudlin 26 points, moving him up to sixth position in the overall standings with 72 points in total. Despite not having been able to score points this weekend, Neukirchner still holds fourth in the overall standings with 101 points to his name.
The next round will take place from July 3 to 5 at the Hungaroring. It will be the first time for the Superbike*IDM paddock to visit the Hungarian track.
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| | | Race 1 – 4th, Race 2 – 5th | | "We finished the first race in fourth position. It was a little bit disappointing because I had hoped for more. I was very lucky to avoid a big crash in the first corner, but I lost a lot of positions because of it. I think I was eleventh in the first couple of corners, so I had to attack to arrive in fourth place, but our main competitors were a long way in front by this stage. That was basically the first race done. My start to the second race was not great but I was in the battle early and I was able to tag onto the back of Lanzi and Mackels. For a long time, maybe until the last five laps, a podium was a real possibility. I could almost grab it, but I found it really difficult to pass Mackels in the last laps and by then Lanzi was gone. I planned to make my move in the last lap in the last chicane and when I arrived everything was in a perfect position, but unfortunately three lapped riders completely blocked the path, so it wasn't possible. It was a bit disappointing to not at least finish fourth, but two good point scoring races are good for the championship. I feel like we've made a step here this weekend, so if we can keep going in this direction at the next event, hopefully I can be in the top three. That's my target." | |  |
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| Michael Galinski - Team Yamaha MGM Team Manager "Max had good speed and was able to stay in front of his main rivals. His crash was really a pity and his injury even more so - with a femoral neck fracture he'll be out for the next six weeks. We are waiting for him to recover and hope that we can count on him again in Schleiz at the latest. We will do everything we can to help him come back as soon as possible. Damian did two very good and solid races. In the second encounter he had a better feeling and is still working on his riding style to be able to move forward. I hope we are able to ride with him to the podium. Max will definitely miss the next round. While fighting with Fores, Max came out of the hairpin in an unusual way. In the following left corner he was riding more on the inside, so he took another line and accelerated more than usual. After this he came sharper into the next right corner and needed to brake very hard where he normally doesn't brake so much, thereby losing the rear. In the data it seems he was nudged a little bit and this was the cause of the highsider." |
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1. Markus Reiterberger, BMW S 1000 RR, 25:40.365
2. Xavi Forés, Ducati 1199 Panigale R, +5.073
3. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati 1199 Panigale R, +6.261
4. Damian Cudlin, Yamaha YZF-R1M, +22.965
5. Marvin Fritz, Yamaha YZF-R1M, +26.592
6. Roman Stamm, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +34.926
7. Pepijn Bijsterbosch, BMW S 1000 RR, +38.184
8. Jan Halbich, Honda CBR 1000 RR SP, +38.992
9. Stefan Kerschbaumer, Yamaha YZF-R1M, +43.245
10. Luca Grünwald, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +44.767
1. Markus Reiterberger, BMW S 1000 RR, 25:43.461
2. Xavi Forés, Ducati 1199 Panigale R, +1.777
3. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati 1199 Panigale R, +9.667
4. Bastien Mackels, BMW S 1000 RR, +14.643
5. Damian Cudlin, Yamaha YZF-R1M, +14.795
6. Mathieu Gines, Yamaha YZF-R1M, +25.259
7. Matej Smrz, BMW S 1000 RR, +32.237
8. Dominik Vincon, BMW S 1000 RR, +32.489
9. Roman Stamm, Kawasaki ZX-10R, +32.602
10. Stefan Kerschbaumer, Yamaha YZF-R1M, +33.763
| Championship Standings - Superbike |
1. Markus Reiterberger, Van Zon-Remeha-BMW, 195
2. Xavi Forés, 3C-Racing Team, 140
3. Lorenzo Lanzi, 3C-Racing Team, 115
4. Max Neukirchner, Team Yamaha MGM, 101
5. Matej Smrz, Wilbers-BMW-Racing Team, 75
6. Damian Cudlin, Team Yamaha MGM, 72
7. Jan Halbich, Holzhauer Racing Promotion, 63
8. Erwan Nigon, HPC-Power Suzuki Racing, 50
9. Gareth Jones, Weber-Diener Racing Team, 37
10. Luca Grünwald, Weber-Diener Racing Team, 19
